Wednesday, June 23, 2010

lovin my baby

Elliott has changed so much the past couple weeks. He is not as wild (well not all the time), and has become somewhat helpful, and super cuddly. He is still getting into everything, but has learned (believe it or not) some limits. He can open the fridge now, so that is a new challenge, but for the most part, he is really growing up. Usually when I shower, I shut him in the bathroom with me (the kid eats dish soap, so I have to contain him) and he brushes his teeth. Lately, he has been really good, and I came out of the shower to this today. He hadn't messed with a single thing, he was just sitting and reading his book. I was shocked!
He has started repeating a few words when he is asked, and even tries some harder ones. He doesn't talk on his own yet, he still just points and makes sounds. He will shake his head "no" or nod "yes" and say "Uh-Huh" if he does want something and you guess right. It can be frustrating.

Considering his lack of speech, he has done amazingly well with Potty Training Boot Camp. Today, he went all day with no accidents! We even ventured out of the house and he made it until we were home again. I took him to the park tonight, and decided to go without a diaper. He made it, dry the whole time, and when we got home he was dinking (cause that's what he does) and he wet his pants. I was disappointed in myself. I knew I should get him to the bathroom faster, but he didn't seem to be in a hurry. Oh well. One accident, that was kind of my fault, on day 4 is so good! We didn't use the timer today, instead I just asked him if he needed to go and he would nod and say "Uh-Huh" and run to the bathroom. I am so proud of him.

Enough "potty" talk. Sadly though, that is the excitement in my life right now. :)

Have a great end of your week!

Monday, June 21, 2010

everything is fine........for us

Father's Day wasn't very much celebrating for us. Jason is still in Helena, Ethan is still in Arizona, and Elliott and I were focused on potty training. However, yesterday evening was exciting for Billings. I'm sure you have heard that we had a wicked storm. The clouds rolled in fast, and the rain poured! The streets were flooded, and we even had some hail. You can see the water up over the curb and into the lawn and driveway.
The tornado siren at the park across the street was going off, and Elliott and I were watching the rain come down. I never thought for one second that there was actually a tornado in Billings. Wow! Luckily, it wasn't near our house, and even better, no one was killed. It did some incredible damage to the heights though. I still can't believe it even happened. Maybe next time I will take the siren a little more serious.

Crazy huh?

Today was more potty training, and I am happy to say, it's going really well. Elliott is like Pavlov's Dog. When the timer goes off, he gets excited and runs for the bathroom. Maybe it's the Skittles? I'm proud of him, whatever his reason.

Have a great week!

Saturday, June 19, 2010

gettin' my "Martha" on

I am really enjoying being home with Elliott, all by ourselves. Last night, after Elliott's bath, I had a brilliant idea to let him do some finger painting. He had a great time, and had paint everywhere, including on me. He was really angry when we were done, and even this morning wanted to do more.  :) While finger painting is fun, I did have a second reason for wanting to do it. Erica has been using Carson's "art" and cutting it to fit on a card, and using them for greeting cards. What a great idea, so I stole it. Don't worry, I'm sure she won't mind. Didn't they turn out great?


Today, we bought Elliott some training pants, some Skittles and some M&M's. I am determined to make Potty Training Boot Camp a success. He started saying a few new words, and repeating what I ask him to, more often. I'm hoping that "potty" is added to his vocabulary in the next few days. *fingers crossed*

I also bought strawberries at Costco today. Elliott eats fruit all day long, and lots of it. I got the brilliant idea to make a strawberry pie. Easy right? WRONG! Apparently you need a food processor for the crust (which I don't have) and then you have to "cut" it, and chill it, put weights in it and blah blah blah! Grrr. I just wanted some pie! So that "Martha" attempt may have to wait till tomorrow, when I have more patience, or the time to go to the store and buy a crust. The filling part looks incredibly simple.

I also had an idea in my head for a very long time that I brought to life today. Go here to see it.

Have a great weekend!

Thursday, June 17, 2010

counting my chickens...........

I probably should wait until I have at least one vegetable, but I was so excited to come home to this!
The garden is growing like crazy! Yay!

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Vacation


This past week was great. Definitely a much needed vacation.

It started on Tuesday (June 8th) when Jaymee picked us up to take us to the airport. I was excited to be going, and very nervous about how Elliott would be on the plane. The airport has a little play area for the kids to wait, which helped some, but they were ready to go. Finally, our seats were called and we got in line. Elliott was throwing a huge fit, and I'm sure no one wanted to get on the plane with us. Once we were seated, everything was good. We were lucky enough to have an extra seat next to us, so there was a lot of room. Elliott could only be occupied for about 2 minutes at a time which made it a little tough, but we made it.

This made me melt the instant I saw it. Ethan is the best big brother.
As soon as we arrived at my parents, the kids wanted to hit the pool. Who wouldn't with all the COOL stuff Grandma and Papa had gotten them.
The rest of that day was spent playing and resting.

The next day was pretty much the same. A lot of swimming and just hanging out. It really didn't take Elliott long to figure out that grandparents are WAY better than parents.
Thursday we needed to get out of the house. After breakfast, Dad took Dominik, Ethan and I into town (it's quite a ways). The boys and I went to the Museum of Natural History, and Dad had some running around to do. Elliott stayed home with the Grandmas.
Ethan and Dominik were SO excited to see the dinosaurs.
This is Ethan's foot compared to a T-Rex.
The museum had tons of fun stuff. This is the boys playing with a green screen set-up. Ethan is the floating head and Dom is the 1/2 Boy.  :)
When they were all done, we were all pooped. My Daddy is the best and got us some Sonic! Route 44 Strawberry Lime-aid. Mmmmmm.
Elliott got some Papa time.
And some Grandma time.
And of course, Ethan was in the pool too.
Monday was the last day for me to spend with Dom and Ethan. I tried to take them to the museum we went to last time, but I am so glad they were closed. The Science Center was INCREDIBLE! We should have went way earlier. I think it would take a whole day to see all there is in there.

Ethan tried his skill at explaining his pattern to me so I could duplicate it. He did it perfect. :)
Then we watched a cow's eye be dissected and learned about all the parts. Dom was so grossed out.
But both boys put on gloves and touched all the parts at the end.
They really had fun with the "Simple Machine" section.
And the digital section was totally beyond me, but really cool. These dots were falling on a screen, but when you stand in front of the screen it looks like the dots are falling around you or piling up. Crazy.
My favorite pictures from the whole trip are these. They sat in front of a crazy mirror and could change how it distorted them and put it on a big screen. We all got a really good laugh.
Squishy!
This one makes me think of "Kid and Play". Haha.

Elliott and I woke up at 3:30am and flew home. Erica was flying out when we were getting in, so her nanny gave us a ride home (thanks). Elliott went right down for a nap and slept for 4 hours and I was able to get a nap in after cleaning up a little. It's very strange to have such an empty house, but I am trying to enjoy it.

And now, back to reality.

Sunday, June 6, 2010

first saturday of summer

Yesterday morning, the boys and I made rainbow chip ice cream cone cupcakes. Even at 9:00am you can't let perfectly good cake batter go to waste.
He licked up every last drop. It was so much fun to bake with them both. Ethan got all the ice cream cones set up for me and helped get out the ingredients.
The cupcakes were for the little get together we had at the park with our friends to celebrate Ethan's graduation and school being out. Joe and Tyler came up, Erica, Carson and Jessica came, and several of Ethan's friends from school.

Elliott and Carson liked the cupcakes, but mostly just the frosting.
All the kids were hopped up on sugar from the cupcakes and Kool-aid.
Just when I thought it was over, a game of roller hockey broke out and we were at the park until 9:00pm. I definitely want to spend more evenings like that through the summer.

Today is rainy and chilly outside. Ethan's friend (let's give him a name so I can stop saying that), Cael, invited him over to play, so Elliott and I did the dishes, and watched a movie. Now he is napping, and I am enjoying the quiet. Elliott has a really hard time understanding why he can't be outside all day again today. Poor kid.

Tomorrow, Jason leaves for a month of training in Helena, and Tuesday, the boys and I fly to Phoenix. Elliott and I will be back in a week, but Ethan is staying until the 8th of July. It's going to be a long month for Elliott and I without Jason and Ethan.

Well, I better get busy. Happy Sunday.

Friday, June 4, 2010

Class of 2022 and some fun

Can you even believe that school is out for the summer? This year seems like it flew by!

Today, Ethan's class graduated from Kindergarden. He was so excited! He couldn't wait to get out the door and get to school.

This is a cake they served for everyone who attended. 2022?!?!?! I'm sure it will go fast, but it sounds like a really long time away. By the way, I will be 39 when he graduates high school. YIKES!
Here they come. All the little girls looked so cute dressed up. I, of course, am a bad mom and Ethan wore what he would wear on any normal day. He's still super cute though.
They sang some songs for us, then it was time for their certificates. Ethan got his, a quick hug from his teacher and then.............
He got the hell out of there!
Don't you just love those hats? Ethan had an amazing report card, and we couldn't be more happy.
The weather was perfect to be outside having a piece of cake and some juice.
We asked another parent to get a picture of us all together so that in 12 years, we can have another one taken of us all together and compare them. I think we might look a little different then.
Mrs. Bishop made Ethan's first year of school so awesome. He had so much fun, and we still cannot believe how much he learned. She liked her bracelet, and was even wearing it during the ceremony.
During naptime, I colored Ethan's hair. It's supposed to be purple, but it's more bright pink. It's awesome. When Elliott woke up we went outside to play. I love this picture of him and I had to share.
I found them a swingset on craigslist.com and couldn't pass it up! It needs swings, but it has these two things and a slide. That's all that Elliott can use anyway, so it works perfect for us.
I definitely see some very tan boys and a well used playset in my future. It's so nice to be able to lock them in the backyard with entertainment. It's much easier for me to get things done when they are playing. We had a really great day, and I am so excited that summer has begun.

Have a great weekend.